Chapter 93: Global Nuclear Explosion 5
“Girl, do you really have water? Can I buy a bottle?” Someone took out cash.
“I have money too! Sell it to me first, I have more money than them.” Someone pulled out several hundred-yuan bills, just to snatch those few bottles of mineral water.
“Little girl, look at what I have in my hand, this classic Chanel bag can easily sell for several thousands…”
Others even took out luxury goods.
But what good was this bag? To Chu Yian, it was too small to even hold things.
She dodged the hands reaching out to her and couldn’t help but cough violently twice again, “No money, no other things, only fever reducers and antibiotics. If you have them, come and trade!”
After speaking, she sat down in a prominent spot, preparing to rest with her eyes closed.
“Hey, there’s no room here.”
She had just sat down when someone nudged her.
Chu Yian opened her eyes upon hearing this and glanced at the man next to her. It wasn’t that there was no room, just that it was a bit crowded. She glared fiercely at the man, her words sharp, “Can’t you lie down later? Didn’t you see I’m here to get medicine?”
She knew that at a time like this, she shouldn’t provoke anyone, but if she didn’t get medicine for her illness, she might die.
At a critical moment of life and death, was she still afraid of fighting for a spot?
Indeed, seeing how fierce Chu Yian was, the man instantly fell silent.
Only a day and a half had passed since the nuclear explosion.
Although human civilization had collapsed after thousands of years, individuals living in a civilized society would not immediately shed their civilized demeanor.
The people in the Subway Tunnel had no means of communication.
They only thought it was an isolated nuclear attack. These people naively believed that there were rescue teams outside and that if they hid underground, someone would soon come to save them. It was precisely because of this that, so far, everyone was still relatively law-abiding.
That’s why Chu Yian dared to openly ask for medicine.
If she was lucky, she would get the medicine.
If she was unlucky, she would leave immediately after 3 hours and find a place to endure.
It didn’t take 3 hours; after only about ten minutes, someone quietly sidled up to her and discreetly poked her with an elbow.
Chu Yian looked up to see a young girl.
Their eyes met, and the girl stood up and left.
Chu Yian immediately followed her. The two found an isolated spot and stopped. The girl was the first to ask, “Are potassium iodide tablets for treating and preventing nuclear radiation?”
“Yes.”
Chu Yian nodded, “I only have 24 such tablets in total.”
The girl, hearing this, spoke directly, “I can give you 9 amoxicillin pills and 6 ibuprofen tablets. But I need 15 potassium iodide tablets and 6 bottles of mineral water. Can you provide that much? If not, the amount of exchanged medicine will decrease accordingly.”
“15 potassium iodide tablets are too many. I can give you a maximum of 12, plus 6 bottles of mineral water.”
Chu Yian assessed her supplies and then negotiated, “Besides 9 amoxicillin pills and 6 ibuprofen tablets, I also need a bottle of disinfectant. Iodine, rubbing alcohol, or hydrogen peroxide will do.”
Hearing this, the young girl’s brows furrowed tightly.
Seeing her hesitate, Chu Yian continued, “After a nuclear explosion, radiation is the most deadly thing. Believe me, potassium iodide alone is extremely precious. Exchanging these items with me is definitely worth it.”
“Okay.”
The girl nodded, “Wait for me, we’ll exchange here.”
Five minutes later,
She came back with a backpack, followed by a dull-looking middle-aged man. Chu Yian immediately became vigilant when she saw an extra person.
“This is my dad. He wasn’t comfortable with me coming alone, so he followed. He’ll just watch out for us nearby, you don’t need to be afraid.”
The girl pointed to the middle-aged man behind her and explained, then took out the agreed-upon items from her backpack.
Chu Yian also took out the water and medicine she had just put into her backpack. She only had enough for the exchange; once she gave it to the girl, her backpack was empty.
She didn’t have any other backpacks. Seeing Chu Yian’s empty backpack, the girl’s lips moved slightly.
If all these things were given to them, what would happen to her?
The girl thought this, but didn’t say it aloud. In this time of nuclear explosion, everyone was fending for themselves. She couldn’t even take care of herself and her family, let alone others. With intense guilt, she put away the water and medicine, but seeing Chu Yian limp away with an empty backpack, she finally couldn’t help but call her back.
She took out a small roll of gauze from her backpack, “Here, take this.”
Kindness from a stranger.
Chu Yian was slightly startled, then took the item, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The girl smiled as if relieved. The middle-aged man who was watching them from a distance also said nothing.
Chu Yian couldn’t accept someone’s favor for nothing.
“Now that you have supplies, it’s best to follow the Subway Tunnel to find an empty place as a shelter to prevent ill-intentioned people from targeting you.”
She reminded, “After 72 hours of the nuclear explosion, the radiation outside will decrease by 90%. At that time, if you are sufficiently covered, you can go to other surface areas to look for survival supplies. Do not pin your hopes on external rescue; the outside might be even worse than here.”
She said a lot. As for whether this person would listen or be willing to believe, that was up to them.
Because she had revealed that she had supplies, Chu Yian didn’t plan to stay here after getting the medicine.
This place was already very close to Niubing Station. Chu Yian decided to walk the remaining few hours, and also to check out the situation in other areas.
The platform area had the most survivors. After entering the Subway Tunnel, the number of people gradually decreased. She listened to her own footsteps and then turned on her phone to illuminate the surroundings.
There was no one around; she could take her medicine.
She took a bottle of mineral water, gulped down two mouthfuls, and took one amoxicillin and one ibuprofen tablet.
Then she started to treat the wound where she had been bitten by a rat.
Because it hadn’t been disinfected in time, the wound on her ankle was already festering.
Chu Yian rinsed off the bloodstains with water, then used her hand to peel off the scab. Blood and tissue fluid mixed and flowed. She pressed hard on the wound, enduring the pain to squeeze out the pus and foul blood. She continued until the blood flowing from the wound turned bright red, then unscrewed the iodine, cleaned the wound again, and bandaged it.
Her ankle hurt a lot.
After cleaning it, she didn’t even dare to move. She sat in place for a while, taking the opportunity to eat something to replenish her strength.
But having been bitten by a rat once, Chu Yian didn’t dare to stay in the Subway Tunnel alone for too long. Food scraps and the smell of blood would attract rats. She had already been bitten once and didn’t want to suffer twice in the same place.
She rested for a moment, and even though the pain in her ankle was unbearable, she gritted her teeth and staggered to the next station.
